Puzzle



(No Model.)

W. TRUMBULL. PUZZLE.

No. 465,147. Patented Dec. 15; 1891.

mith/mom 8140 mm UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

lVILLIAM TRUMBULLOF NEWV HAVEN, CONNECTICUT.

PUZZLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 465,147, dated December15, 1891.

Application filed June 23, 1891. Serial No. 397,209. {No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be itknown that I, WILLIAM TRUMBULL, a citizen of the United States,residing at New Haven, in the county of New Haven and State ofConnecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inPuzzles; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being hadto the accompanying drawing, and to the letters of reference markedthereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to puzzles; and it consists of a board having twomain grooves united by a transverse groove, a short lateral groovecommunicating with each main groove, and a set of blocks bearing lettersor figures sufticient in number to fill either of the main grooves, thepuzzle being to so move the blocks as to transfer them from one maingroove to the other and have them arranged in the same order in thesecond groove as they occupy in the first.

The drawing illustrates such a board A, the blocks B being eight innumber and bearing the letters C O L U M B U S. These suffioe to fillthe eight spaces in the upper groove a, each block filling one space.The transverse groove Z) also has eight spaces, and so likewise has thelower groove 0. The transverse groove 19 connects the first space in theupper groove with the first space in the lower groove. From the sixthspace in each main groove leads ofi a lateral groove 0. c, the formercontaining two spaces and the latter three.

The board maybe suitablyornamented, preferably byhaving the Word Europeand the date 1492 near the upper groove and the word America and thedate 1892 near the lower groove. The points of the compass may berepresented near the middleof the board.

The puzzle may be called Columbus Discovering America, the object beingto trans fer the blocks 13 to the groove 0 by sliding them along thegroove 1) and in and out of the lateral grooves a 0', so that they mayspell the word Columbus in the groove 0. The

object of making these lateral grooves of the length stated is thatthere may be altogether at both ends of the puzzle a clear working spacesufficient to hold nine blockst'. (2., four in the upper right-handcorner and five in the lower, with room for egress at each place.

In solving the puzzle the first two blocks C O are slid down-to thelower end of the groove 0 and the next two L U into the groove c,leaving four blocks above. The letters are to be transposed. Thereforethe first one to be manipulated is the S. Drop U into groove a, then S.Then slide M B to the right, leaving S free to come down into the vacantspace in groove 0. O and C are then slid to the left, permitting S to bemoved to the end of groove 0, its ultimate position. 0 is then movedinto groove 0' and C is thus free to be brought up to the upperright-hand part of the board. By thus keeping only four blocks at thispoint it is easy to manipulate them, so as to free any one and allow itto be brought down. Having brought down S, U, and B, the critical pointin the puzzle is reached. Move L U out of groove 0 and run U S up intoit, the S being uppermost. Then run U L to the right and placeB in thegroove 0'. Take the U of U L back to the top of the board and bring downM. To get it past L, run B temporarily to the left and put L in itsplace. Then slide M B to the end of groove 0 and L is free to go andjoin C O Uup above. Now put M B U S in orderin groove 0. The other fourletters are then easily brought down in proper order and thetransposition is accomplished.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is

1. A puzzle consisting of a board containing two main grooves, eachadapted to hold the same number of blocks, a transverse groove unitingthe corresponding ends of said main grooves, lateral grooves leading offfrom near the unconnected ends of the main grooves and adapted tocontain less than the whole number of blocks, and a set of movableblocks adapted to fill one of said main grooves, substantially asdescribed.

2. The board A, having thegrooves a 0, each containing eight spaces, thegroove 1), connectspectively, the letters .0 O L U M B U S, subing thefirst space in the groove a with the stantially as set forth. l0 firstspace in the groove 0, the lateral groove In testimony whereof Iaifix mysignature in a, leading off from the sixth space in the presence of twoWitnesses.

5 groove a and containing two spaces, and the VILLIAM TRUMBULL.

lateral groove 0, leading off from the sixth Witnesses: space in thegroove 0 and containing three TALOQTT H. RUSSELL,

spaces, and the eight blocks B, bearing, re- ISAAC WOLFE.

